Machine for gauging bottleneck openings



May 13, 1952 A. D. MCNUTT ETAL MACHINE FOR GAUGING BOTTLENECK OPENINGSFiled Jan. 6, 1948 5 Sheets-Sheet l May 13, 1952 A. D. MCNUTT ETAL2,596,342

MACHINE FOR GAUGING BOTTLENECK OPENINGS Mak/W7@ www May 13, 1952 A. D.MCNUTT ETAL 2,596,342

MACHINE FOR GAUGING BOTTLENECK OPENINGS Filed Jan. 6, 1948 5Sheets-Sheet 5 (ju/umm AAMNUTI RLNEWMN May 13, 1952 A. D. MCNUTT ET AL2,596,342

MACHINE FOR GAUGING BOTTLENECK OPENINGS Filed Jan. 6, 1948 5Sheets-Sheet 4 31m/umm JLMNUTT KLNEHTOM a, .www

May 13, 1952 Filed Jan. 6, 1948 A. D. MCNUTT ETAL MACHINE FOR GAUGINGBOTTLENECKQOPENINGS 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 www@ UNITED STATES PATENT oEFIcEMACHINE FOR GAUGIN G BOTTLENE CK OPENIN GS Anderson D. McNutt, Newark,and Robert L. Newton, Bridgeton, N. J., assignors to Owens-IllinoisGlass Company, a corporation of Ohio Application January 6, 1948, SerialNo. 754

9 Claims.

Our invention relates to mechanism for testing or gauging as to shape ordimensions, various articles including bottles, jars and the like, andincludes means for segregating defective articles from those which passthe test, The invention providesamachine for gauging articles fedtheretector comprising a pivoted arm 22 or tumbler to in rapidsuccession and automatically detect- Which is thrown to aswitch-operating position ing and discarding defective articles. (ashereinafter described) when the downward The invention in the formherein illustrated movement of a gauging plug into the neck of a I anddescribed comprises a machine designed and 10 Container is prevented. ASWitCh 25 (FigS 2 and adapted for gauging the neck openings of bottles3) is arranged to be tripped by the tumblers 22, which are fed in rapidsuccession to the machine, thereby closing an electrical circuit for anelecand means for detecting defective bottles and tromagnet 24 andcausing the latter to operate automatically separating them from thosewhich an ejector 23 located at the ejecting station. A pass the test.stationary cam 26 resets the trip arms 22.

A primary object of the invention is to provide The endless beltconveyor |0 is driven by a a machine which will detect and eliminateconcontinuously running electric mOtOl 27 (Fie 1) tainers with undersizeor deformed neck open- Operating through a train 0f gearing includingings which would prevent satisfactory insertion Speed reduction gearingin 'a gear bOX 28, a drivof lling tubes such as used commercially infilling ing Chain 01 belt 29 driving a Vertical Shaft 30 the containers,and bevelled gear 3|. The latter drives a gear Other objects of theinvention will appear here- 32 011 a hOliZOhtal Shaft 33 (Fig. 2) Whichhas inafter, driving connection through a sprocket chain 34 Referring tothe accompanying drawings; With a dIVe Shaft 35 fOr the Conveyor beltIU.

Fig. 1 is a side elevation, with parts broken 25 The Spiral COHVBYOI' I3iS driven by the motor 2l away, of a machine embodying our invention;operating through a horizontal shaft 36 extend- Fig 2 is a ppm view ofthe machine; ing from the gear box 28, bevel gears 31, 38, and

Fig, 3 is a Wiring diagram of the electrical Cira vertical shaft 39geared to the spiral conveyor cuits for the motor and the aparatus forejecting 3 defective articles; 30 The bottles B are fed onto theconveyor belt Fig. 4 is a. cross-sectional elevation of the ma,- I atthe righthand end thereof and are advanced chine at the line 4-4 on Fig.1 on a comparativewith the Conveyor between the spiral feeder I3 lylarge scale; and a stationary guide rail 40. The timing feeder Fig. 5 isa part-sectional plan view substantial- I 3 is formed with a spiralthread 4| by which the ly at the line 5-5 on Fig. 4; 35 bottles areaccurately spaced and positioned to Fig. 6 is a sectional elevation atthe line B- be brought into register with the gauging heads on Fig. 5;I5. The guide rail 4U is adjustably mounted by Fig. 7 is a fragmentarycross-sectional elevameans of brackets 42 permitting adjustment for tionat the line on Fig. 5; and containers of different diameters.

Fig. 8 is an enlarged sectional detail showing 40 The upper and lowersprocket chains and I8 the gauging plug testing a defective bottle. towhich the gauging units are attached are Referring to Figs. 1 and 2, abrief description trained respectively over upper and lower driving ofthe machine will now be given, followed by a sprocket wheels 43 and 44mounted on the drive more detailed description. The machine comshaft 30.The sprocket wheels have a splined prises, in general terms, acontinuously traveling 45 connection with the drive shaft by means ofendless conveyor belt I0 and conveyor frame II splines or keys 46secured to the sprocket wheels mounted on a framework I2; an infeeddevice and engaging vertical grooves 41 in said shaft, comprising aspiral timing feeder I3 by which the permitting vertical adjustment ofthe gauging workpieces, herein shown as bottles B, are timed mechanismto accommodate workpieces of difand centered under gauging heads I5 ongauging 50 ferent heights. The sprocket chains and I8 spindles I6. Thegauging units, each comprisare also trained over upper and lower drivening aspindle I6, are connected to upper and lower Sprocket Wheels 43 and49 (Figl) mounted 0n endless chains I1 and I8 for continuous travel avertical shaft 50 and Ialso having a splined conhorizontally in a closedpath. The gauging nection therewith to permit such vertical adjustmentof the gauging mechanism. The shafts 30 spindles are mounted forup-and-down movement under the control of a stationary cam 2|) and eachgauging spindle carries a gauging element in the form of a plug 2| (seeFigs. 7 and 8) movable downwardly into the container for testing theneck opening. Each gauging spindle carries a deand 59 are journalled attheir lower ends in bearings 5I on a lower platform 52 on the frameworkI2, and at their upper ends in bearings 53 secured to a horizontal framebar or plate 55 (Figs. l and 2). The plate 54 forms part of an upperframework or superstructure 55 mounted on a Y platform 55 and in whichframework the gauging brackets 62, The shafts 53 vextend downwardlythrough a horizontal plate 63 (Figs. 1l to '6) and have a screw-threadedconnection with nuts 61% attached at the lower side of the plate 5,3.The gauging mechanism is supported from the plate 63 as presentlydescribed. The shaft 6| -is provided with a'hand crank 65 for rotatingthe shafts Y 5| and 58 and thereby adjusting the ,gauging mechanism upand down. The shaft 6| is also connected through bevelled gears 65 57|to avertical shaft 58 which has a screw-threaded connection |59V withthe frame which carries the electromagnets 24 and ejector mechanism 23,for adjusting such mechanism up `and down with the gauging mechanism.

Each gauging spindle I5 comprises a vertical tubular shaft includingupper and lower `sections l5 and 1| (Figs. 4, 7 and 8) having atelescopic connection permitting free relative vertical movement of saidsections. The downward movement of the section 'Ii is limited by stopshoulders l2. The gauging head I5 comprises a disk 13 'attached byweldingto a nut i4 threaded on the .lower end of the section 'EI andheld in position by a locking nut 75. The disk 'I3 isrformed with anopening through which the gauging plug .2| yextends, the walls 'I3 ofsaid opening being upwardly tapered andV thereby providing afrustoconical'surface adapted to engage the bottle neck as the gauge islowered and accurately register the gauge with the bottle, preliminaryto Ythe testing operation.

Each gauging unit comprises a carriage 'I'I in which the spindle I5 ismounted for vertical movement. The carriage 'II is in the form of acasting comprising an upper head |8,.lower head r sides of the plate 53,the track including end 'seotions 82 concentric with the sprocket gearsabout which the chains rIl and I8 travel. The rails 6| are bolted to abracket 53 seated on the plate v|53 and attached thereto by bolts 86.Rollers 85 running on the tracks 8| are journalled on the heads i8 ofthe carriages. Attache-d to each head I8 is a bracket 55 carrying a roll'81 running on the inner vertical face of the track 8| anda pair ofrolls 8B running on the outer face of said track. The lower head 'i3 ofthe carriage has secured thereto arbracket 95 carrying rolls 9| and 92corresponding to the rolls 8l and 88 and running on guide rails 93bolted to a lower bracket 55. The carriages are thus held securelyagainst lateral displacement or tilting movements during their travel.The sprocket chains I'| and I8 are attached to the carriages by means ofplates 95 and bolts 56.

The sprocket wheelsAS and 44 run on 'ball Vbearings |23 carried at theupper and 'lower ends of a non-rotating tubular shaft I2| through whichthe rotary shaft 35 extends. Spacing sleeves |22, |23 and |24surrounding the shaft |2|, hold the brackets 83 and 94 spaced from eachother and from the sprocket wheels. The

sprocket wheels are mounted directly on a tubular shaft |25 surroundingthe shaft 30 and connected 'theretoiby the keys 45, the shaft |25 beinginterposed between the shaft 35 and the shaft |2i. Nuts |26 and |21threaded on the upper and lower ends respectively of the shaft |25 clampthe non-rotating parts together and to the stationary supporting plateB3. Y Vertical rods |23 extend through the tubular shafts 3|] and 5|),and are attached at their upper ends to the plate 51% and at their lowervends to the platform 52.

Each gauging' plug 2l has a screw-threaded l:connection 91 (Fig. 7) witha tubular stem S3,

the plug and stem Vbeing free for up-and-down movement within the shaft15. rIhe downward movement of the plug is limited by a nut |55 attached`to the stem 99 vat the upper end thereof in position I`to 4seat on theupper end of the shaft 75. Connections between the cam track 23 andshaft 1-0 linclude 'a cam follower roll lill mounted on -a stud shaft|52. The latter is formed with a collar |03 by which it is clamped tothe shaft 10. A roll |04 journa-lled on the shaft |52 is positionedbetween the vertical frame members Sli onv which it runs during theup-and-down movement of the gauging spindle, holding the latter againstrotative movement.

During the forward travel of the gauging spindles over and with thecontainers B, the rolls lill run on the cam track 20 which, `as shown inFig. 1, includes a downwardly inclined section 25a which permitslowering of the gauging spindle into engagement with the container, theconical surface '|6'serving to accurately align the container with thespindle.V When the gauging head seats on the container and is thus heldfrom further downward movement, the upper section 'l5 of the spindle andthe stem with the gauging plug 2| continue their downward movement sothat the plug isgprojected through the neck of the bottle to the dottedline position, Fig. '7. If the neck Yopening is too small to permit thefull downward movement of the plug or has a constriction vormalformation as at |05 (Fig. `8) obstructing and arresting the plug, thedownward movement ofthe shaft section-'I6 relative to the plug causes arelative upward movementrof the stern 99. This operates to throw thetumbler or ydetector arm 22 inwardly from the full line position `to'the operative position shown in dotted lines (Fig. 7), the said armbeing connected by a pivot lIllli to a bracket |31 clamped to the 'shaft10.

The switch '25 (Fig. 2) has a trip arm |58 extending into the path inwhich the arm 22 travels when the latter has beenrthrown to saidoperative position, so that when the arm 22 reaches the switch .'25, theswitch is operated to establish a circuit for the electromagnet 24.

Referring to Fig. 3, the motor M is connected through a -switch |20 in athree-phase system comprising -mains a, b, and c. The electromagnet 24,when energized, operates the ejector 23 -attached by ain arm to a coreof the electromagnet. When the detector arm 522, which has been actuatedby a defective bottle asY above described, reaches the trip arm |55 andmomentarily closes the `switch '25, the said bottle has reached theposition 'B' in the path of the ejector 23, so

that the electromagnet operates to eject the defective bottle from theconveyor.

The detectors or tumblers 22 which have been actuated by defective wareare reset by the cam 2Sr which is formed with an inclined cam surface H5(Fig. 6) in the path of the tumblers. The cam 26 is attached to abracket H6 bolted t0 the plate 63.

Modications may be resorted to within the spirit and scope of ourinvention.

We claim:

1. Gauging apparatus comprising a tubular spindle including telescopingsections, each of said telescoping sections being freely movable withrespect to the other, and to its mounting, means for mounting thespindle in upright position, a gauging head mounted on the lower saidsection at the lower end thereof and adapted to seat on an article undertest, a gauging plug, a stem to which the plug is connected, said stemextending lengthwise through said spindle, said plug and stem beingmounted for free sliding movement up and down relative to said gauginghead and lower sections of the spindle to and from a gauging position,and a detector mounted on the spindle and projecting into the path ofsaid stem and movable thereby to an operative position by relativemovement of said stem and spindle.

2. Gauging apparatus comprising a tubular spindle including telescopingsections, means for mounting the spindle in upright position, a gauginghead mounted on the lower said section at the lower end thereof andadapted to seat on an article under test, a .gauging plug, a stem towhich the plug is connected, said stem extending lengthwise through saidspindle, said plug and stem being movable up and down relative to thespindle to and from a gauging position, and a detector mounted on thespindle and projecting into the path of said stem'and movable thereby toan operative position by relative movement of said stem and spindle,said gauging head being formed with upwardly convergent guiding surfacesarranged to contact the article to be gauged as said head is moveddownward and hold said article in register with the spindle.

3. Gauging apparatus comprising a tubular spindle including telescopingsections, means for mounting the spindle in upright position, a gauginghead mounted on the lower said section at the lower end thereof andadapted to seat on an article under test, a gauging plug, a stern towhich the plug is connected, said stem extending lengthwise through saidspindle, said plug and stem being movable up and down relative to thespindle to and from a gauging position, a detector comprising a tumblerpivotally mounted on the upper section of said spindle and projectingover said stem, and means for moving said upper section downwardly whilethe gauging head is seated on the said article, said stem and gaugingplug being free to move downwardly with the telescoping section formoving the gauging plug to a gauging position, said stem being operativeto throw the tumbler when the gauging plug is prevented from completingits said downward movement to said gauging position.

4. Apparatus for gauging the neck openings of hollow articles,comprising a horizontally traveling conveyor, means for driving theconveyor, gauging mechanism including a plurality of gauging unitsmounted above the conveyor, each said unit comprising a vertical spindleand a gauging head carried by the spindle, means for driving the gaugingmechanism in synchrcnism with the conveyor and causing the said spindlesto move in a closed path with thespindles directly over the saidconveyor during a portion of their travel, said spindles and gaugingheads being movable downwardly to cause said heads to seat on articlescarried on the conveyor, each said gauging unit including a gauging plugmovable downward by gravity relative to the gauging head for causing thegauging plug to enter the neck opening of the article, a stationary camtrack, cam followers individual to the gauging units and operativelyconnected to the said spindles for controlling their up-and-downmovements, detectors carried with and individual to the spindles, eachdetector comprising a tumbler pivotally connected to the spindle,operating means between each gauging plug and its associated tumbler forthrowing the latter to an operative position when the gauging plug isprevented from normal downward movement into a said neck opening, anelectromagnet, aswitch in circuit with the magnet winding and positionedin the path of the tumbler when the latter is in operative position, andan ejector operatively connected to and operated by said electromagnet.`

5. Apparatus for gauging the neck openings of bottles or other articles,said apparatus comprising a horizontally traveling conveyor, gaugingmechanism mounted above the conveyor and comprising gauging unitsmounted to travel horizontally in a closed path, means for driving thegauging mechanism and conveyor in synchronism, each said unit comprisinga vertical spindle and a gauging head on the lower end ci the spindle,said heads and spindles mounted for up-and-down movement during theirtravel for seating the gauging heads on the said articles and causingthem lwhile seated to advance with the said articles during a portion oftheir travel, each spindle comprising telescopically connected tubularsections, the lower section carrying the said gauging head, a stationarycam track, each said unit including a cam .follower roll running on saidtrack and connected to the upper telescoping section, said track beingshaped to lower the spindle and seat the gauging head on an article tobe tested and then move the upper said telescoping section downwardrelative to the gauging head, a gauging plug movable downward throughthe gauging head and into the neck opening of the article, a stem onwhich the gauging plug is connected, said stem extending upwardlythrough the spindle and movable up and down relative thereto, a tumblerpivotally connected to the upper telescoping section and projecting intothe path of said stem and arranged to be thrown to an operative positionby upward movement of said stem relative to the spindle, and ejectormechanism actuated 'by said tumbler, said ejector mechanism beingpositioned and arranged to eject articles from the said conveyor.

6. The gauging apparatus defined in claim 5 wherein the ejectormechanism comprises an electromagnet, an ejector arm operativelyconnected thereto, a switch in circuit with the electromagnet windingand positioned in the path of said tumbler when the latter is inoperative position, and a stationary cam positioned and arranged toreset the tumblers.

7. Gauging apparatus comprising a vertical spindle, a supporting framein which the spindle is mounted for up-and-down movement, said spindlecomprising tubular telescoping sections,

each of said telescoping sections being freely movable 'with i'espectvto 'the other, kand to its mounting, 'a rgauging head attached to thelower end of the lower said section, said head formed with an openingtherethrough with upwardly tapered walls for engaging and centering anarticle to be gauged, a gauging plug mounted for free movement up anddown through the opening in said head, ya stem connected to said plugand extending `vertically through the spindle and mounted for reesliding movement up and down relative lto the spindle, and a stop deviceattached to the 'upper end of the Ystem in position to engage thespindle vand limit the downward movement of the lgauging plug relativeto the spindle, the gauging plug when at said limit of downward movementbeing in a position in which it protrudes downwardly through the openingVin the gauging head, and being free for upward movement relative to thespindle sections.

8. 'Gaugi'ng apparatus comprising a spindle including tubulartelescopically connected sections, each oi' said telescoping sectionsbeing freely movable with respect to the other, and to its mounting, Yacarriage in which the spindle is mounted 'in vertical position, saidspindle as a whole being movable up and down in the carriage, means fordriving the carriage in a horizontal path, a stationary cam track, meanspro- Y viding operating connections .between the camV track and theupper said section of the spindle, said track being 'shaped and arrangedto effect up-and-down movements of the spindle during the travel of thecarriage, a gauging plug, a stem attached to the plug and extendingvertically through the lspindle and mounted for up-anddownv movementrelative thereto.

9. Gauging lapparatus comprising a spindle including `tubularltelescopically connected sections, each of said telescoping sectionsbeing freely 8 movable with respect to the other, and to its mounting, acarriage -which the spindle is mounted in vertical position, saidspindle as a whole being movable up .and down in the carriage, means fordriving the carriage in a horizontal path, a stationary cam track, meansproviding operating I'connections lbetween Vthe cam track and the uppersaid 'section of the spindle, said track being shaped and arranged toeffect upand-down movements of the spindle during the travel of thecarriage, a gauging head carried on the spindle at the lower end thereofand formed with an opening therethrough, a gauging plug vmounted forup-and-down movement within said opening, a stem attached to said plugand extending upwardly vthrough the spindle and mounted for up and downmovement relative to the spindle, and a detector projecting into thepath of the said 'stem and operable by the movement of 'said sternrelative to the spindle.

ANDERSON D. MCNUTT. ROBERT L. NEWTON.

REFERENCES CTED The following references are of record in the le of this:patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS

